Second Concept

Spot the differences! 

• I've asked for our wee munchkin animals to appear by the logo.
• The buttons will change to read Babies      Quilts      Duvet Covers      Accessories          Furniture
• Each of those buttons will have a drop down menu, with options of Neutral, Boys, Girls, Safety.  With Accesories dropping down to Soft toys, Blankets, Sheets sets, Safety, ....

I have also asked for the background colour to be in more grey tonings.

First Concept for the Website

This concept has already gone back to the designer.  Our awesome new logo wasn't included!!!  Within the next few days I should be able to post our second concept.

Both photos will be on an automatic slideshow, the larger picture showing room coordinates, with the smaller pic the components that create the room look.  The text box will describe the items as they appear.

"Discount Deals" and "Free Shipping" info will also move in the slide show box.  De-cluttering some of the space below.

So... I would love your feedback!  Leave it here or on our facebook page
Munchkins Facebook Page

New Look Munchkins!

Wow what an exciting few weeks it has been for Munchkins!
My girlfriends and I aim to take a weekend off to just "hang out" at our friend's parent's bach at Whangamata.  It is such an awesome space to be away from the piercing eyes of housework and the demands of children.  The first time we did this trip over a year ago, it rained almost non-stop!  Perfect weather to watch Steel Magnolias, Bridget Jones Diary, and what ever else we could get our hands on.  We ate Bing's Chocolate Truffles (recipe below), and drunk wine.  Nothing better, especially surrounded by your best friends.

This time however was a Munchkins development weekend.  My friend and graphic designer, Leen's took her laptop up and created the new branding for Munchkins - much more modern and fitting with our new extended range.

The colour combo of grey and teal are my favourites!  The little munchkin animals carry some continuity from the previous branding, and "pink" it up a bit.  By the way the pink animal is meant to be a Kiwi!

I've also been in contact with a local interior design company who are interested in developing a partnership with us.  We haven't discussed details yet, but I'm hoping they will be able to match fabrics for upholstery, drapes/blinds, wallpapers, and paint colours that will team up with our beautiful hand made quilts.

Our manufacturer is underway with our first big order.  Our South African stockist is ready to order her first shipment for her new stores "Cranberri Babi"  This is our first stockist of exclusive Munchkins Quilts under our ownership so we wish Marilize the best success with her new business.  Especially because she also aims to be able to spend more time with her beautiful boy by having her own business too!



We are finally getting our new courier bags sorted, a postman sak style which is waterproof, meaning our products can be shipped in these reusable bags.  These have come at somewhat of an unexpected expense, but I hope that they continue to advertise our business as parents use them for swimming bags, book bags, nappy bags whatever bags!

We have received two separate orders from suppliers, including Nici Soft Toys; our ever popular Giraffe, and the cutest Elephant I have ever seen!  And the beautiful Whimsy Duvet Covers, so beautiful, more so in the real.  As I have said before, I'm not really into Pink but the REAL detail in 'Blossom Pink" is stunning.
It is the kind of design that once you receive it you will be far more impressed than what what you previously thought.

Our new website is getting closer and closer.  I can't wait until it is launched!

The only downer of the last few weeks is that Cadell (Munchkin #1) has another cold, and has had very bad asthma as a result, nothing the nebulizer can't fix!  Though he has also watched a shed load of TV due to my busy-ness (or business?) and I sometimes wonder if this new adventure means I will have more or less time with him?!?!?!

Try these AWESOME decadent, indulgent truffles!  Simple recipe but a little finicky to make, but TOTALLY worth the effort!

BINGY'S CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
1 pot of cream cheese
2 packets of mint slice (mint treats) biscuits
1 block of Dark Chocolate

In a food processor crush biscuits, add cream cheese.  Freeze for 10-15minutes to make it easier to roll into balls.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler (don't boil the water!  You will burn the chocolate, and it will go chalky. Straight from the kettle is good)

Dip the rolled balls into chocolate, leave to set.  DEVOUR!!!!

These are best kept in the freezer, especially when its warmer.  I've made these with Oreos, but I fund the mixture quite dense. White Choc Tim Tams covered in white chocolate - devine! And Berry sensations, covered in milk chocolate, almost like a Jelly Tip.

Enjoy!  See you in the next adventures of Munchkins!

My Tips for Buying an Online Business

We bought Munchkins for two main reasons; firstly it seemed like a reasonable asking price for an existing business which seemed relatively easy to run; secondly my aim is to be at home as much as possible with my son and to continue staying at home if we are able to have more children and still have a steady income.

Before we purchased we sought some advice from an accountant friend (who happens to work with our wonderful accountant at KPMG)  I spoke to several friends who would likely be in our target market, and asked the current owner as many questions as we could think of, we viewed financial statements, and checked the quality and condition of the stock that came with the business (well my excellent sister did that for us!)

Personally, I also put a great deal of faith in the opinion of my loyal fiancee.  He manages our industrial refrigeration business "Excel" here in Hamilton.  I am constantly in awe of his business mind and ability to make sound financial decisions.  At times he seemed more keen than I was to buy the business!


Here are some things I would have researched further, in hindsight;

• Google Analytics.  Find out everything you can about these for the current website.  This will give you information on how many hits the site gets per month, what key words bring people to the site, what pages they are looking at and how long they are on your site for.  From this information you will gain an overall picture of how well the site is working for the business - crucial if you are solely an online business.
• ask about the costs of running the website.  This will include hosting fees (often around $60 incl. per month), any license fees or other associated fees.  There maybe a support programme already in place with the web designer, find out the ongoing costs of this, and how long the contract is for.  You are likely to need some support in the first month at least unless you are a website whizz.  There maybe small changes you want to make, so your web company should be able to help.  
• talk to the company that designed the site.  You may already have a few ideas about the design or other functions you'd like to explore, and you will quickly learn if the company that did the design work is worthwhile continuing with or not.  If they're not, be aware that a good design could cost upwards of $7000
• Check current stock.  All the stock we purchased was in good condition but, much of it was sale stock or end of line items.
• ask the previous owner to notify all suppliers of your change of ownership, this just means its less of a surprise when you ring them to set up a new account!

We were lucky that the website we purchased was functional and has allowed ongoing sales.  What was a surprise was the analytics. The site hadn't been search engine optimised, meaning that we still popped up on about page 6 of a google search for "Childrens Bedding".  If you're like me I look at 2-3 pages of google search results before I lose interest or redefine my search terms.

I hope that is some help to some one out there!  Or at least some interesting background info for those of you thinking about getting into e-commerce.

Good Luck!